Immobilization of the head and cervical portions of accident victims or those suspected of being exposed to cervical injuries, is often essential during transportation in order to minimize the possibility of further injury to the patient's spine or aggravation of injuries already suffered. A variety of spine, head and cervical immobilizing devices have been provided in the emergency medical industry over the years.
One form of head immobilizer is generally provided as an integral unit as part of a cervical spine immobilizing device often used independently of a rigid support backboard, and adapted to fit around the patient's body and cervical areas. Representative devices of this nature are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,748 (which issued to S. Winner on July 12, 1977), U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,218 (which issued to R. Kendrick on July 8, 1980), U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,407 (which issued to M. Koledin et al. on May 20, 1986), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,999 (which issued to W. Nesbitt on June 17, 1986). With the exception of the Koledin device, which was intended to be manufactured as a disposable device, the devices shown and described in these patents are relatively complex and expensive to manufacture, and are difficult to maintain and clean up between successive uses. Additionally, these devices do not address the specific problems of immobilizing a patient's head and cervical areas in conjunction with a rigid backboard unit. Consequently, additional devices are often required for proper immobilization after the patient is placed upon the rigid backboard.
A similar device directed to cervical immobilization is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,981, which issued July 16, 1985 to J. Behar. The Behar device is designed for use in association with a standard rigid backboard, and comprises a pair of resilient cylindrical head support rolls for location on opposite sides of a patient's head. The support rolls are attached to one another and held in place on the rigid backboard by straps which pass under the backboard and over the support rolls and the patient's head. However, the Behar rolls block access to the patient's ears and to a substantial portion of the head, and such access can be vital to monitoring the condition of the patient and the extent of the injuries. Additionally, the Behar device comprises a plurality of individual parts susceptible to misplacement or loss during periods of non-use, and requiring substantial storage space which is often at a premium in emergency medical areas and/or vehicles.
Other immobilization devices have been provided with pads or cushions designed to hold the patient's head in place in a manner similar to the Behar device described above. In particular, head restraint devices for use in conjunction with a rigid back support are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,897,777 (which issued to R. Morrison on Aug. 5, 1975, and 4,182,322 (which issued to L. Miller on Jan. 8, 1980). The Morrison head restraint is quite similar in operation to the Behar cervical immobilization device, with the exception that its pillows are attached at their lower edges by a trapezoidal web. The Morrison pillows are inflatable for use, and the patient's head is held in place between the pillow units by one or more overlying straps. The Morrison device, however, requires inflation of its pillows, or storage of the inflated pillows which would require substantial space, and includes various parts which can become misplaced between uses. Similarly, the Miller harness device is designed for use with a rigid backboard having a particularly shaped upper portion to facilitate attachment of the harness. As can be appreciated, the Miller device also comprises a plurality of individual parts. Both the Miller and Morrison devices prevent access to a substantial portion of the patient's head and cervical areas during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,757, which issued to D. Zolecki on Feb. 25, 1986, shows a head restraining device including a pair of L-shaped frames or brackets which can be removably fixed to the upper side of a rigid backboard. While the Zolecki device provides access to the patient's ears, its rigid construction does not provide for comfortable and snug conformance to a patient's head area, and the L-shaped brackets project substantially above the backboard and prevent convenient storage of the backboard with the immobilizer unit attached. If the Zolecki device is stored in attached position on a rigid backboard, it can become damaged by interaction with other structures; and if it is stored separately from the backboard, its individual parts can become lost and attachment of the device to the backboard will be required, wasting valuable time at the emergency scene.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,275, which issued to V. Buzzese et al. on Feb. 3, 1987, shows another attempt at providing a head restraint for use with rigid backboards. The Buzzese device, however, provides a pair of rigid side portions which do not conform to the patient's head and do not provide access to the patient's ears in use. Moreover, like the Zolecki device described above, the Buzzese restraint cannot be conveniently stored in a ready-to-use position on the rigid backboard.
Yet another device for immobilizing the cervical area of a patient is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,994, which issued to R. Bashaw on Nov. 3, 1981. The Bashaw immobilizer is similar to the Miller harness described above, as it calls for a complicated arrangement of pieces which includes cushions which substantially prevent access to the patient's ears in use.
More recently, simpler, disposable head support devices have been marketed under the trademark "HeadBed.TM." by California Medical Products, Inc., and the mark "Head Vise.TM." by Life Station 16 of Oklahoma. The HeadBed.TM. device includes a base which slides under the patient's head and two support arms extending laterally from the base which extend upwardly above the patient's ears and conform to the upper portions of the patient's head. The support arms are held in place by attaching their distal end adjacent the rigid backboard support. While the HeadBed.TM. provides access to the patient's ears, only minimal support is provided to the patient due to the location of the support arms only above the patient's ears. The Head Vise.TM. is similar to the HeadBed.TM. in that it provides a base portion having outwardly extending side support panels which conform to the patient's head. The Head Vise.TM. provides better support for the patient's head, however, fails to provide access to the patient's ears as a result of its more substantial support arm portions. Additionally, the relatively wide support arm members of the Head Vise.TM. do not readily conform to the generally tapered shape of the human head, and, therefore, cannot provide optimum support for a patient's head being immobilized in the device.
As can be seen from a review of the immobilizer devices available in the industry heretofore, a general problem with the immobilizer devices was that they were complex, expensive, and impractical to maintain, store, and clean between uses. The complex devices and their relative expense also made it impractical to discard the devices after only a single use. Additionally, the immobilizer devices generally did not provide access to the patient's ears, which can be vital to assessing injuries and providing proper medical assistance during transport and the like. More recent attempts to provide low costs, disposable immobilizer devices have failed to provide adequate support and immobilization, access to the patient's ears, and convenient storage on a rigid backboard support in a single unit. Additionally, immobilizers available in the industry have failed to provide optimum support of a patient's head and cervical region in conjunction with optimum comfort for the patient and accessibility for the medical service provider.